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Abbas: Killing of Hamas Leader Intended to Prolong Gaza War

FILED - 16 August 2022, Berlin: Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, answers questions from journalists at a press conference after talks with the German Chancellor. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa
FILED - 16 August 2022, Berlin: Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, answers questions from journalists at a press conference after talks with the German Chancellor. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa
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Abbas: Killing of Hamas Leader Intended to Prolong Gaza War

FILED - 16 August 2022, Berlin: Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, answers questions from journalists at a press conference after talks with the German Chancellor. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa
FILED - 16 August 2022, Berlin: Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, answers questions from journalists at a press conference after talks with the German Chancellor. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa

The killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was intended to prolong the Gaza conflict, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told RIA agency in remarks published on Tuesday, adding he will discuss the crisis with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
RIA, citing a diplomatic source, said that Abbas will come on the long-expected visit to Moscow on Aug. 12-14 for talks with Putin.
Haniyeh, the political leader of Palestinian group Hamas, was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran last week, in an attack that drew threats of revenge on Israel and fueled concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.
Abbas said that he considers Haniyeh's assassination, "a cowardly act and a dangerous development in Israeli politics".
"There is no doubt that the purpose of Mr. Haniyeh's assassination is to prolong the war and expand its scope," Abbas told Russia's state RIA news agency in an interview.
"It will have a negative impact on the ongoing negotiations to end the aggression and withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza," Abbas said in remarks published in Russian by the RIA agency and translated by Reuters.
Haniyeh had been the face of Hamas' international diplomacy since the war started and on Oct. 7, 2023, and had been taking part in internationally brokered indirect talks on reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.
Iran, which backs Hamas in its war with Israel in Gaza, has blamed Israel for the killing and said it will "punish" it. Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility.
Russia has condemned Haniyeh's killing and called on all parties to refrain from further destabilization of the region.
Abbas told RIA in the interview that he plans to discuss the peace process in the region with Putin.
"We constantly exchange opinions with the President of Russia, consult on all the most important issues in order to advance the peace process, as well as strengthen bilateral and regional relations," RIA cited Abbas as saying. "We will do this during our upcoming visit to Russia."
Abbas is also expected to visit Türkiye, with Ankara saying last week they expect the Palestinian leader for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan on Aug. 14-15.
Russia has repeatedly scolded the West for ignoring the need for an independent Palestinian state within 1967 borders.
On Monday, a senior ally of Putin, Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia's security council held talks in Tehran with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian in which the Iranian leader said that he is determined to expand relations with its "strategic partner Russia."
Qatar, Egypt and the United States have repeatedly tried to clinch a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but have encountered obstacles from both sides as to how long fighting should stop for and the release of Israel hostages.
Israeli forces have killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, according to local medical officials, since the Hamas-led group attacked Israel in October, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.